Yearbook Superlatives
by CodependentCollision
Summary: High school AU: Sometimes you need a push from your classmates in order to see the obvious.


"Aubrey, this better be important because I'm losing Beca time here," Chloe says, walking into the multimedia room where Aubrey asked to meet her after school. She is busy pulling books out of boxes, but turns her head to look at Chloe.

"Oh, it is," Aubrey says. She smiles and walks over to Chloe, handing her one of the books from the box. Chloe takes it, giving her a suspicious look before looking down. In her hands is a copy of the yearbook. The yearbooks aren't meant for distribution until tomorrow.

"Yay," Chloe says unenthusiastically. She gives Aubrey an unimpressed look. "I get an early copy of the yearbook," Chloe says, completely lack luster.

Not losing her smile, Aubrey crosses her arms. "Turn it to page 65."

Chloe does as told. She stares down at the page, and her lips stretch into an impossibly happy grin. She looks up at Aubrey, dashing forward to give her a hug.

"Oh my god, this is great!" Aubrey laughs in response.

"I have to show Beca, bye!" No sooner are the words out of her mouth then she's out the door, the smile on her face never faltering.

* * *

The shit eating grin Chloe has on her face would make Beca cower in fear. However, a lifetime of years in friendship kind of desensitizes a girl to her best friend's manic looks.

"Oh my God, do I want to know?" Beca asks as soon as Chloe bounces into her room.

Instead of answering, Chloe hands Beca the yearbook. Beca takes the offered book and looks at Chloe suspiciously.

"An early copy of the year book," Beca says. Beca can see Chloe vibrating with the amount of glee she must be trying to contain. Beca shakes her head and thinks Chloe should get a fucking medal or at least a blue ribbon for holding back whatever it is Chloe wants to tell her.

"I marked a page - open it," she demands.

With a reluctant sigh, Beca opens the book in her hands to the marked page. She expects to see that embarrassing band picture, the one that Chloe ruined when she jumped in at the last second, wrapped Beca in a tight hug and gave her a big wet kiss on the cheek.

What she is looking at, however, is not that picture. Beca looks up at Chloe, who by this point is almost blue with the effort of containing her glee.

"I don't get it." Beca looks back down at the page before her and the picture therein, as if it were a difficult puzzle.

The picture itself isn't what's puzzling: it's the two of them; Beca is sitting down, legs stretched before her, her back resting against a tree. There's a book in her hand but her face is tilted down, a smile on her lips as she looks down at Chloe who has her head on Beca's lap and is smiling up at her - the pose is not puzzling at all. Poses like that are daily occurrences, because Chloe likes to think Beca is her own personal pillow. What confuses Beca is the words above the picture.

Before Beca can ask any questions, Chloe seems to be no longer able to contain her excitement. "Beca. Beca. Beca they love us," Chloe exclaims.

She walks closer to Beca and wraps her in a tight, side-hug, her face nuzzling Beca's neck. Beca's response is to tilt her head back to give Chloe more room because, well, this is Chloe - it's what she does and if it feels kind of nice, well, then that's just a bonus for Beca.

"Umm, is this a joke?" Beca finally asks. Chloe, who had been nipping lightly on Beca's ear lobe stops and pulls away.

"Beca, we got nominated for cutest couple, how is that a joke?" Her face is serious if a little hurt.

Beca sighs, takes the few steps to her bed and sits down. "First off, we weren't even on the ballot. Second, and I think this one is the most important fact, we are not a couple," she states slowly, making sure Chloe understands what she's saying. Not that Beca would mind but she has given up on that idea - that ship sailed a long time ago, particularly when she realized Chloe wasn't gay, wasn't even bi.

"Oh ye of little faith. You clearly underestimate our adoring public," Chloe says.

Beca rolls her eyes. "What I want to know is - how did you even pulled this off?" Beca asks with one hand waving at the opened page in front of her. Chloe had to have rigged the ballot somehow, she's just not sure how she pulled one over Aubrey the Iron-Fist yearbook editor.

"Becs, I didn't do anything - it was the people, they love us." Upon seeing Beca's disbelieving look, Chloe groans and takes her phone out and dials a number.

Beca looks on, confused.

"Tell her, she doesn't believe me," Chloe says immediately choosing to forgo the normal "hello" niceties and shoves the phone into Beca's hand.

"Umm, hello?" Beca says, unsure of who Chloe just called.

"Beca!" A sharp voice greets her. She recognizes Aubrey's voice. "I take it this means Chloe showed you the year book."

"Yeah?" Beca admits warily.

"It's real," says Aubrey. "Chloe didn't do anything to rig it. You guys won by a landslide," she informs her seriously. Well there goes Beca's theory.

"But we weren't even on the ballot," Beca exclaims, because even though she knows Aubrey would never allow rigging to go on in her yearbook she still feels doubtful of the outcome.

"I know; you were a write-in vote." And the sheer amusement in her voice makes Beca be a little suspicious but this is Aubrey - she doesn't lie.

"But why?" Beca is so confused it's not even funny, except to Aubrey, who is totally laughing at her.

"Beca, how can you be so clueless? Chloe, I can understand, but you? People just got tired of you two being oblivious and someone at the dance said something about you two needing it spelled out, so there you go," Aubrey says, her tone final.

"Umm, okay," Beca says, and gets a dial tone for her troubles. She frowns at the phone before giving it back to Chloe, who takes it and slips it back in her pocket.

"Beca," Chloe says excitedly.

"Chloe, we're not dating." Beca runs a hand through her hair tiredly.

"Beca, we totally are," Chloe says eagerly. "We go out on dates," she explains.

"No, not dates. We just hang out together, a lot, and kind of just by ourselves, totally just as friends," Beca trails off. Holy shit, could it be true?

Chloe snorts. "Yeah and we hold hands like _just _friends and we sleep together and cuddle like _just _friends and we went to Prom together as _just _friends that's why we danced with no one else but each other like _just _friends and we're applying to the same schools to be together as _just _friends."

"Oh," Beca kind of sighs in surprise.

"Face it - we're dating the only thing we haven't -" Chloe stops and slaps her forehead. "Of course." She rolls her eyes at herself; she goes to stand in front of Beca and gets down on one knee.

Beca's eyes go wide, but Chloe just gives her a completely genuine smile, like a real one not her 'oh this will be a great joke one' but her 'wow, Beca, you're kind of really awesome, how are you even real' one, which Beca is the recipient of at least once a day.

"Beca, do you want to go out with me?" Chloe asks. Beca blinks and then she smiles because Chloe has been her best friend for years, and she can tell when her friend is bull shitting her: Chloe isn't.

Beca laughs, but it's not her mean laugh, so Chloe's not worried.

"So, you like me?" Beca asks, her voice is quiet but she's smiling, that cute little smile she only gets when she's really happy. And how can Beca even ask that - Chloe has pretty much adored her since the first day they met.

Before Chloe can answer, Beca's eyes go wide. "Oh my God, that's why our moms had us take a billion pictures on prom day. And the reason your cousin sent one invitation for the two of us to her wedding, instead of giving me a separate one, and I thought she was doing it to save money."

Chloe only nods at her indulgently. "Holy shit, we are a couple," Beca says with a little hysterical laugh.

"Yeah," Chloe agrees, her tone light. She gets serious and shifts on her knee. "But, you're not like, opposing are you? Because it's, like, way too late to tell me I can't have my Beca."

Beca looks thoughtful for a second.

"Well, you did ask so nicely," Beca says, and now that she knows that Chloe does like her like that she does nothing to fight off the giddy feeling in her stomach or the stupid smile she knows she must be sporting.

"You know," Beca begins casually, "there is something we haven't done that couples do."

Chloe cocks her head to the side in the way that Beca knows means 'go on'.

Beca takes a deep breath and says, "We haven't really kissed."

Kissing is awesome; kissing Beca will be beyond that. Chloe is so excited for this kissing prospect, that she scrambles up off the floor as quickly as she can and kind of trips on her way up. She ends up taking a hold of Beca's shoulders to keep her balance. Beca, not expecting the sudden added weight, falls back - Chloe landing on top of her.

Beca is laughing, and Chloe looks down at Beca's smiling face. She can work with this. She smiles. "I'm going to kiss you now." That's all the warning Beca gets before Chloe leans down and gives her a tiny sweet kiss on her lips.

Beca sighs into the kiss - it's nice and sweet and gentle but she wants to kiss Chloe for real. She opens her mouth and licks the bottom of Chloe's lip, and Chloe sucks in a breath. She pulls back and looks down at Beca.

"I'm trying to be respectful," she says kind of breathlessly, and Beca rolls her eyes. "If you keep doing that, all bets are off," she warns.

Beca snorts because Chloe can be such an idiot sometimes. Instead of informing Chloe that she's being an idiot, she says, "I don't want you to be respectful. I want you to kiss me like you want to." Beca licks her lips.

She watches fascinated as Chloe follows the movement of her tongue with rapt attention. It's like something snaps inside of Chloe and before Beca can finish running her tongue over her bottom lip, Chloe is leaning down, capturing Beca's tongue and just delving into her mouth.

Finally, Beca thinks, as she tilts her head up to deepen the kiss. Chloe kisses with a possessive devotion; she presses her entire body flush against Beca. Chloe bends her arms at the elbows, dropping down closer to Beca; she moves her hands closer to Beca's face, cradling her head. It makes Beca feel safe and hot all over.

They kiss for what seems like forever. When Chloe finally gets too heavy on top of Beca to be comfortable, they switch to lying on their sides. Chloe throws one leg over Beca's hip and Beca slips her leg between Chloe's.

"Such a good idea," Chloe states before eagerly finding Beca's mouth again. Beca kisses back with equal eagerness; she presses closer to Chloe, bringing their bodies impossibly closer.

Beca can't believe how good this feels, how right they fit together, how natural it is to lay next to her best friend and kiss her and touch her and make her moan, swallowing the sounds into her mouth and feel the vibrations from her throat all the way down to her toes.

Chloe seems to share the same sentiment if the way she's touching Beca everywhere she can reach is any indication. Chloe seems determined to find out what makes Beca bite down on Chloe's lip and push closer to her.

It's a long while later that heavy kissing turns into lazy pecks. They're still in the same, side lying position, and Chloe nips Beca's bottom lip and slowly pulls back, giving Beca a content smile.

Beca smiles back and runs her hand down Chloe's forearm. "So, how long have you liked me?" Beca asks, her hand now trailing to Chloe's back, tracing slow figure eights.

Chloe sighs and closes her eyes. "Remember when we were seven and I got my tonsils taken out and the nurses had to carry you out of my room kicking and screaming so they could take me into the operating room?"

Beca tucks her head under Chloe's chin and nods. She does remember. That was a horrible day. At that age, her opinion of hospitals was not a good one and she had truly believed that Chloe was going to die.

She feels Chloe kiss the top of her head before she continues. "I remember thinking that I had to pretend to be brave so you wouldn't be upset, but inside I was really scared too - but not about having the surgery. What scared the shit out of me was how easily they took you away from me," Chloe says, her voice sounded strained and her arms tightened around Beca. Beca returned the embrace, placing a tiny kiss on Chloe's throat.

Chloe sighs and relaxes again before she says, "Then I went into surgery and when I woke up, you were there sleeping in my bed. I felt so relieved and I just remember thinking that I had to find a way of never letting anyone take you away again; I had to think of a way of keeping you with me always. At the time my knowledge of marriage consisted of promising to be with someone you loved all your life and I thought there's no one I'll ever love for all my life but Beca. That's how I decided that if I wanted to keep you with me forever, there was no better answer then to marry you. And so when you woke up I told you I was going to marry you," Chloe finishes with a small shrug and a shy smile.

Beca chuckles. "I thought you were drowsy from the anesthesia when you said that."

"Well, yeah but I meant it," Chloe says.

"So you knew when you were seven that you were in love with me?" Beca asks.

"Yes." The word is spoken with such finality that there's no way Beca can doubt Chloe's sincerity.

"Oh," Beca says and smiles, leaning forward to kiss Chloe lightly on the lips.

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Beca asks.

"I was waiting for you to catch up."

"Oh," Beca says again, because Chloe had never been patient except, apparently, only when it comes to Beca.

"When did you know?" Chloe asks.

Beca shrugs. "I don't know - I've always loved you, it's just changed through the years so that I can't pin-point the moment I started thinking I wouldn't really mind if you were more than my friend."

Chloe is now tracing Beca's red lips with her thumb. Beca likes the feeling of Chloe's rough calloused finger on her lips and without warning she sucks Chloe's thumb into her mouth.

Chloe gasps, loudly, and Beca smiles around Chloe's thumb, before she teases the tip with her tongue. Chloe takes a sharp breath in, pulls her thumb out of Beca's mouth and crushes their lips together. Her hand goes to the small of Beca's back to pull her forward so she can grind into her.

"The things I want to do to your mouth," Chloe groans, pulling back and kissing under Beca's ear. Beca shivers with the thought that she wants to see, feel and hear the things that Chloe wants to do to her mouth.

"I -" Beca stutters.

"Beca!" Beca's mom calls from the first floor of the house. Beca groans.

"Yeah mom?" she calls back, and Chloe, the bastard, has moved on to open mouthed kisses on her neck.

"Is Chloe staying for dinner?" she asks.

"Yes I am, Judy," Chloe answers, pulling away from Beca's neck.

"You girls wash your hands and come down, then."

"Okay," Beca yells one more time. She looks at Chloe and smiles for what feels like the billionth time since Chloe barged into her room.

"Thwarted," Chloe pouts.

"For now," Beca replies before disentangling from Chloe. She stands by the bed and stretches her muscles - her back cracks when she stretches her hands over her head.

She watches Chloe sit on the edge of the bed. There is a quiet stillness to Chloe as she watches Beca stretch.

"I meant it you know," Chloe says. "I know we're still young but you're it Beca, there is no one else for me," she confesses. Beca stares at her; Chloe ducks her head, not meeting Beca's eyes and starts to nervously poke at a loose thread on the hem of her shirt. Chloe only fiddles with things when she's unsure of something.

Beca feels warm all over, and she tries not to rolls her eyes because that would be mean – instead, she walks to stand in front of Chloe, she shuffles her feet until the toes of her shoes lineup perfectly with Chloe's, and she stands there and she stands there until Chloe looks up.

"What makes you think I don't feel the same way?" Beca says softly. The answering smile that blooms on Chloe's face may have possibly just made Beca's heart flutter. She almost wants to laugh at herself for how long it took her to realize she was in love with Chloe.

"Beca, Chloe!" Beca's mom calls.

"Come on," Chloe says, standing up. She gives Beca one last kiss before.

On their way out, Chloe uses one of her hands to hold Beca's, which does not make Beca want to bat her eyelashes like a school girl, thank you very much, and with the other she snatches up the yearbook.

"What are you doing with that?" Beca asks her voice high pitched.

"I'm going to show your mom - she's going to be so proud," Chloe tells her before pulling her along. Beca groans and reluctantly follows Chloe down the stairs. Beca's mom doesn't even bat an eyelash at their joint hands - she only smiles and rolls her eyes.

After dinner, Chloe unveils the yearbook with a lavish sweep of her hand. Chloe ushers Beca's mom into the living room, sits next to her and pulls Beca down next to her. Chloe shows Beca's mom the picture of the two of them along with the accolade they received while bragging how they weren't even on the ballot.

Beca's mom does look proud of them. And the rest of the evening is passed by Chloe showing Beca's mom all the awesome shots of Chloe&Beca (because that's what reads under every picture they're in together) in the yearbook, and much to Beca's horror, the band picture does make it in. Chloe says she's going to cut it out and frame it and hang it along with the cutest couple one.

Beca casually, under her breath so her mom doesn't hear, tells Chloe if she wants to get laid any time this century she won't. Chloe, contrary to popular belief, is not an idiot and doesn't mention it the rest of the evening.


End file.
